Yankees Call Up Williams, Trade Carpenter

Northjersey.com

The New York Yankees announced on Thursday that the team will be calling up outfield prospect Mason Williams.

Williams will take the spot of closer Andrew Miller, who hit the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with a strained flexor mass muscle in his left forearm. Williams will be in Baltimore on Friday following the Yankees’ off day on Thursday. The 23-year-outfielder was hitting .318 with 22 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a .795 OPS between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Once one of the Yankees’ top prospects, it appeared that Williams would turn out to be a bust following underwhelming 2013 and 2014 campaigns.

While Williams did move from high Single-A to Double-A in 2013, the season was nothing special for a kid that was named the game’s 32nd-best prospect by Baseball America heading into the season. A lefty hitter, Williams put up a .245 average, four homers, 28 RBI, 15 stolen bases and a .641 OPS.

The 2014 season went even worse, as Williams’ average fell to .223 and his OPS dropped to .593.

Now it seems the center fielder has regained some of what made him standout out in New York’s farm system not too long ago.

In other news, the Yankees traded reliever David Carpenter to the Washington Nationals for minor league infielder Tony Renda. Carpenter was designated for assignment after he recorded a 4.82 ERA in 22 appearances.

Renda was hitting .267 with 13 stolen bases for Double-A Harrisburg. The 24-year-old second baseman was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft by the Nats and was ranked the organizations’ No. 12 prospect prior to the season by Baseball America.

The two moves are the latest in a high-volume number of roster moves made by the Yankees this week.